November 6, 2018

Follow Your Own Path

When Peter saw him, he asked, “Lord, what about him?” – John 21:21

Jesus had just told Peter how the disciple would die. While Peter was willing to follow Jesus anywhere, he sure didn’t want to do it alone. So, Peter asked Jesus what would happen to John.

Isn’t that just like us? We get called to do something and we want to know what others have to do. It’s that comparison thing we’ve got going. We all do it.

Jesus told Peter not to worry about what John would do. It certainly wouldn’t change what Peter would face. John’s calling belonged to John and Peter’s calling belonged to Peter.

That’s how it is for us. Each of us are called to be unique. We are gifted in special ways to achieve God’s purpose for our lives. It doesn’t matter what someone else’s calling is. It shouldn’t even concern us. But it does.

We do that in all areas of our lives. We want to play the piano like someone else, ignoring the fact that we are talented in voice or sewing or teaching. We want to look like a certain person, ignoring the fact that we are wonderfully made in the image of God to be who we are. We want to always be different than who we are rather than embracing the person God created us to be.

We also try to put our own characteristics onto others. It’s like we want to remake them in our own image. We tell someone they like something when the reality is we like it, not them. We try to force our children to follow us in music or career or style. We manipulate others to get our way rather than allowing them to be who they are.

What’s wrong with someone being different from us? You like brown and taupe and other neutral colors. I like turquoise and fuchsia and lemon yellow. Neither is right or wrong. We are simply uniquely made with different tastes. I’m amazed at the people who would put someone down simply for not liking the same colors as they do.

Look at our political world. Today is election day. There will be lots of put-downs going on, some subtle and some not so subtle. Why do we think that someone who votes differently than we do is stupid? Why do we need to criticize or ridicule someone who doesn’t agree with our political opinions?

Peter wasn’t sure about what his future held. He would do anything for Jesus. He’d already betrayed Jesus once. He wasn’t about to do it again. Peter would indeed become the rock on which the church was built. But it didn’t stop Peter from wanting to know what John would be doing.

We are all different. God calls us to our own unique paths, using our individual gifts, to bring Him glory. So, stop worrying about what someone else is doing or what someone else looks like and just focus on being who you are. Follow God’s plan for your life and don’t compare it to anyone else’s path.

March 16, 2018

What Choice Are You Making?

Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you. Ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure. Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil. – Proverbs 4:25-27

We are distracted by the world. There are so many things, so many people, vying for our attention. We want to be involved, in the know, part of it all. Except maybe we were set apart for a higher purpose, a higher call.

We lament all the changes around us but we don’t do anything to correct what we don’t like. A sweet friend gets so angry at a television show she finds disgusting. Then why watch it? It’s like we’re drawn to the ugly. The simple truth is that television, like so many things, is a business. If no one watches, the show will be cancelled. The end. But we can’t seem to help ourselves.

Maybe we don’t want to help ourselves. Because some of the “rules” aren’t easy. We prefer to gossip, to divorce because of “irreconcilable differences,” or to have one too many drinks at the game or a celebration. We don’t want to hold ourselves to the standards God has laid out for us.

It’s so much easier to pick and choose what we’d prefer to see as the focus from the Bible. We don’t want to share our food or clothing so we condemn people we don’t know, labeling them lazy and unworthy. We forget that God tells us to be good to immigrants because we’d rather only welcome those who look, act and think like us.

We justify our actions because “everyone is doing it.” Somehow we think that makes it okay. We don’t want to cause trouble, to make people dislike us, to draw attention to ourselves. We remain silent, forgetting we are supposed to be different so that the light within us shines brightly for all to see Jesus.

Let someone else do it. We don’t want to be ridiculed and condemned. We don’t want to sacrifice. We simply want to live a good life – as defined by the world’s standards – and end up in heaven one day after we’d lived a long, happy life. We don’t want to struggle. We don’t want to give up anything. Surely, Jesus didn’t mean that we were to leave everything for Him?

Church has become more of a social venue rather than a place to worship and honor God. It is an option for those days when we feel like attending, feel like participating, feel like sacrificing our time for a God we claim to love.

It’s all about us. Oh, we say we know it isn’t really. But our actions tell a different story. Arrogance fills us as we tell others what we will and won’t do. I laugh silently at the words. Experience has taught me that God frequently calls us to do exactly what we’ve proclaimed we’ll never do.

Motives come from the heart and that is where God sees all and judges accordingly. What path are you on today? When you look ahead do you see a cross or do you see a vacation? Are you more concerned with comfort or in following the path Jesus has laid out for you?

We have a choice each day whether to serve ourselves or to serve Jesus. Each decision we make, every step we take, leads us down a path toward a final destination. What choice are you making?

Sunday, February 7, 2010

Follow God's Road

"By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going." -- Hebrews 11:8

Whenever I'm headed out to someplace I've never been, I want two things. I want a GPS programmed to get me where I'm going and I want a printout from mapquest for just in case the GPS gets lost. I also stick a map in my bag too. I know this might be a little excessive, but I've used all three at one time or another.

Abraham didn't have a GPS or mapquest. I doubt he even had a map. He had something much more valuable. He got directions from God and he followed them. I want to be like Abraham. I want to just forge ahead even when I don't have a clue (which is fairly often) in the direction God would have me go. And, mostly, I do. I'm forever asking Him to show me the way, to light my path and give me a nudge. If I'm oblivious or get my directions wrong, I want Him to go ahead and turn me around until I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing. See, I've read it all wrong before. I know how bad things can get when my directions don't coincide with God's. That was a bad road trip and I don't want to go there again.

Of course, the path isn't always easy even when I know I'm doing what God wants me to do. I'll be walking my own little walk, minding my own business, and someone will tell me what I should be doing instead. They'll try to turn me around and convince me I've got it all wrong. It hurts, especially when the "advice" comes from good Christians who really should know better. So I do what any child does when her feelings are hurt. I run back to my Father and tell him all about it. He dusts me off and sets me back on the path He's called me to walk.

I question Him every step of the way. I'm the child who asks "Are we there yet?" about every mile or so. I'm impatient and want to see what's ahead before we get there. God understands. I'm the one who reads the book's ending before I get past the first few chapters. So you see, I already know where I'm headed because I've read the ending of the book. My path leads right to heaven and the waiting arms of Jesus. Everything in between is just scenery along the way.

Finding Direction

"Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I life up my soul." -- Psalm 143:8

Sometimes one of the most difficult things to do is to take that step forward. Indecision can quickly paralyze anyone. How do you know which way to go? Who do you turn to?

God. Always. Think about it. He is the only one who always has your best interests right there front and center. Always. Nothing selfish about God. He wants you to succeed and to be happy.

I look up and feel the unfailing love that He wraps around me. I pray, quietly waiting for His answer. He lights my path. That is the direction I should go. The first step is easy. Heis leading the way.

Follow His Path

"Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you saying, 'This is the way; walk in it.'" -- Isaiah 30:21

One of the great joys of walking with Christ, is knowing that He will guide you. One of the great frustrations is learning to drown out your thoughts so you can hear what He has to say.

I keep expecting that it will get easier with time. Maybe it does. I don't always agree with the path He has chosen for me. I am not a patient person. And I would truly love to avoid some of life's more painful lessons. But I've also come to realize that He does know best. There is safety and security in that.

Sometimes I think I hear Him chuckle when once again I'm moved to say, "You were right and I was wrong." I find that I worried needlessly. He did say He would take care of me. Just because I can't see it until it happens, doesn't mean He's forgotten. He's God. He doesn't forget.

So I focus on the path He has set out for me, knowng it is best. I'll be okay, no matter what, so long as I follow His path.